Seahawks casting a familiar image

It doesn’t require too much squinting of the eyes to see plenty of the 2011 49ers in the 2012 Seahawks.

After a string of non-winning seasons (four), Seattle will arrive at Candlestick Park on Thursday as a resurgent team whose 4-2 record has been made possible by a suffocating run defense (second in the NFL), a physical workhorse running back (Marshawn Lynch), a first-round pick who became an immediate pass-rushing force (Bruce Irvin) and an underestimated quarterback with a knack for comebacks (Russell Wilson).

Sound familiar?

There’s more. On Sunday, in the moments after a dramatic comeback win, an emotional member of the Seahawks had an exchange with the vanquished opponent that lacked decorum and made national headlines.

No, it wasn’t Seattle head coach Pete Carroll channeling the handshake-heard-round-the-world by Jim Harbaugh. Rather, it was Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, one of Harbaugh’s former players at Stanford, taunting Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after a 24-23 victory.

On Tuesday, Carroll, a feisty players’ coach who had a successful stint in the Pac-10 like you know who, endorsed the we-bow-to-no-man spirit of Sherman’s postgame chatter.

“I like that our team has a chip on their shoulder,” Carroll said. “We all do. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

Thanks to the aforementioned traits Seattle shares with the 49ers, it also shares first place in the NFC West (along with the Cardinals) entering Thursday’s prime-time matchup.

The Seahawks have reached the top spot thanks, in part, to the surprising play of Wilson, a 5-foot-11 rookie who slipped to the third round because of concerns about his height.

Like 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, who had six fourth-quarter comebacks in 2011, Wilson has flashed a flair for the dramatic. After six games, he has become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw two game-winning touchdowns in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime.

On Sunday, he rifled a 46-yard touchdown to Sidney Rice with 78 seconds left to cap a 13-point, fourth-quarter comeback against New England.

Wilson, the No. 75 overall pick, has more touchdowns and wins than top-10 picks Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill and has a better passer rating (85.6) than all but Griffin.

“I think he’ll be their quarterback for a long time,” San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, “and credit to them for seeing through his height and picking him.”

As the 49ers did with semi-surprising first-round pick Aldon Smith last year, the Seahawks appeared to have netted another draft-day steal in outside linebacker Bruce Irvin.

Irvin was viewed as a first-round reach by many, but Seattle’s front office, which includes former 49ers general manager Scot McLoughan, grabbed him with the No. 15 pick. With 4 1/2 sacks, Irvin is tied for sixth in the NFC with a group of players that includes Aldon Smith.

Yet another common thread: A certain NFC West team also had quite a bit of interest in Irvin.